Even with a $400M valuation, scooter startup Bird faces an uphill battle

Bird, a startup launched by a former Lyft and Uber exec, has raised $118 million in venture capital funding, and it's not even a year old yet. Per a PitchBook estimate, the company, which provides dockless electric scooters users can rent with an app, has a valuation of $400 million, though Bird would not confirm that figure or disclose an alternative valuation. [ PitchBook ]

Uber will go head-to-head with Didi again — this time in Mexico

In August 2016, Uber sold its China assets to its primary competitor in the country, Didi Chuxing, and ended a costly subsidy battle that was on its way to slowly bleeding the company dry. That was the last time Uber and Didi faced off head-to-head in a ground war.

But Didi isn’t done with Uber. The Chinese ride-hail player has just launched its service in Mexico, which happens to be an Uber stronghold. [ Recode ]

Andreessen Horowitz is planning to launch a dedicated crypto fund

The SEC may be firing off subpoenas to crypto investment funds and ICO projects left, right and center — apparently over 80 — but that isn’t stopping Andreessen Horowitz, the influential Silicon Valley firm known as A16z, from starting its own crypto-based fund. The rumor has been going around for a while — not a huge surprise since the firm has invested in the likes of Coinbase, Earn.com and CryptoKitties and co-founder
Marc Andreessen (pic above) is a big crypto advocate — but it now appears there is genuine substance to it. Recode spotted a couple of A16z job vacancies that seem to confirm that the wheels are in motion. [ Tech Crunch ]

8VC has closed its second early-stage fund with $640 million in commitments, seemingly with an eye on logistics and biotech

8VC, the early-stage, San Francisco-based venture firm founded in 2015 by serial entrepreneur Joe Lonsdale and four other general partners, has closed it second early-stage venture fund with $640 million in commitments, says one of its investors.

The fund comes roughly
two years after the firm closed its debut fund with $425 million, along with a separate, $50 million seed fund. A couple of years ago, 8VC also quietly raised a late-stage “coinvest” fund that it closed with roughly $400 million in capital commitments, meaning its total assets under management are currently around $1.5 billion. [ Tech Crunch ]

How Malta Became a Hub of the Cryptocurrency World

Two of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges plan to make the tiny European nation of Malta a central hub of their operations, and analysts say others are sure to follow. Officials on the Mediterranean archipelago, the European Union’s tiniest member, are aiming to boost its fortunes by becoming one of the world’s friendliest jurisdictions for a sector that’s caused concern among other regulators. [ Bloomberg ]

Mixed Martials Arts Firm Nears $1 Billion Valuation

Singaporean mixed martial arts firm One Championship is on track to obtain a valuation of about $1 billion in its latest round of funding, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The lead investor in this round will account for more than half of the at least $100 million that One Championship is seeking, with the rest of the deal expected to close by the end of July, the people said, asking not to be identified as the process is private. The company plans to use
proceeds to expand in China, South Korea and Japan, they said. [ Bloomberg ]

Why I Overestimate My Contribution To My Team

Claire McDonnell and Jennifer Kim on Building an Inclusive Company Culture

A Silicon Valley Pot Deal

Canva acquires Sydney-based interactive presentation startup Zeetings

Amazon eyes a move into home shopping TV with possible Evine acquisition

The VC For Me

AWS Startup Day - San Francisco 2018: Ted Wang, Cowboy Ventures, Trae Vassallo, Defy Partners, & Shruti Gandhi, Array Ventures. Venture capitalists will all tell you they bring more than money to the table. So, what is it? In that combination of cash and expertise that venture capitalists possess, how does an entrepreneur figure out who the right investor for them is? Strategies for finding not just the right VC, but also getting the right level and type of support from investors. [ Youtube ]